IRVINE Victoria boss Ben Carson says he is enjoying the challenge of rebuilding his playing squad.
The North Ayrshire boss admits he has lost more of his squad from last season than expected with many heading off for new challenges in higher divisions.
However, he says that he sees it as an opportunity to start afresh ahead of the coming WoSFL Third Division campaign.
“It’s been a tough one," Carson said. "I honestly didn’t think there was going to be as much of a turnaround in players. I thought we would have kept a large of chunk of the squad.
“Unfortunately, when a few players do well, other teams can come in with a wee bit more money and boys’ heads can get turned.
“With a few others, boys have got decent moves up the divisions. With that, you want them to go and progress with their career, you can’t hold them back.
“It’s just an opportunity to go and try build another squad again, and we’re doing that.”
The Victoria Park boss says that his players being in demand shows that players are developing during their time in Irvine.
He added: “It’s near enough a full rebuild, it’s enjoyable at times, trying to bring in players who suit the way you want to play.
“When you start losing boys, you start beating yourself up a wee bit, but they wouldn’t be getting moves if they weren’t doing well.
“I’m bringing younger boys in, developing them and moving them on. That’s where we are.
“We’ve got 25-26 boys training, we’re running the rule over a lot of players trying to get the right ones in. It’s a challenge but it’s one we’re looking forward to.”
Carson does not believe that the squad overhaul will mean his team are any less competitive in the coming league season.
He continued: “I usually set targets at the start of the season, this will probably be a year I’m not going to set targets.
“The promotion places would be great, but we’ll just take it one game at a time and see how it goes.
“If I get the players I want in over the next couple of weeks, with the players we’ve signed, we’ll be a decent side.
“It won’t be a season of just rebuilding, we want to get the right players in to have a right good go.”
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